Wednesday, February 19, 2014

Mayors' Council Part 2

I thought I was done with the Mayors Council, but then I saw this - more
whining from the Mayors

Opposition
to the Referendum

“Referenda are tools without
context and would be divisive to the region.” You have control over the referendum
process.You provide the context or lack
thereof.If you propose solutions that
will divide the region, it will divide us. The region supports the LRSP and Transport 2040. Show us the plan for that.

“Making complex policy by
referenda is contrary to principles of good governance.” You are not making complex policy by
referenda. You are seeking approval of tax
increase.

All this is short for we don’t want to do
the work to with the region to increase their taxes and improve their
transit. We want the province to force
it on them instead. How is that good
governance and accountability, some of the key points on the Governance
proposal?

Project
Priorities

“Transit and road and bridge improvements
need to be coordinated and implemented in a timely and expedited fashion to
support the success of TransLink’s 2040, the Provincial Transit Pacific Gateway,” September 23, 2010.

So in 3.5 years, all the Mayors have
managed to do is affirm they support the Transport 2040 vision. A vision, even a strategy, is not a
plan. Neither the Base nor Supplemental 10 Year Plans discuss anything about what could or should be done if any
of these major sources of funding become available, or how they will move us closer to the Transport 2040 vision. So the Mayors are asking for new taxation to
support a dream.

I keep hearing the Mayors are unified. They are unified in only two things – they
want the province to increase their powers of taxation and they support the
Transport 2040 plan. Step one level
below that though, and the unity falls apart.
Watch what happens when you ask

Which comes first – West
Broadway or Surrey rapid transit?

Surface or grade separated?

What form of bike
infrastructure should we focus on?

I can see the fur flying from here.

What they’re asking for the province to
give them $200 million more a year to support Transport 2040, with no
visibility into how they will do it
Forget it. That money will get
lost, absorbed into operations, and frittered away as the Mayors bicker over
what to do with it. We’ve already seen
that with the squabbles over the Millennium and Canada lines.

Conversely, if they ask us for $200 million
more a year from a vehicle levy, a region specific 0.25% sales tax, and a $2
toll on the Pattullo to help us reach Transport 2040 by

A subway along West Broadway to
UBCby 2020

A skytrain extension in Surrey
to Newton by 2022

A commuter rail a la Westcoast
Express from Aldergrove by 2018

Addition of 50km of separated
bike lanes per year until 2030

Extension of the Evergreen Line
to PoCo by 2025

Park and Rides at 20 stations over the next 10 years

Frequent Transit Network
expanded to the following routes....

etc

people will get onside. We all know we need this stuff. Share how this work will improve life for
everyone along the way? Now we see why of late most
transit referenda are passed. It’s an
easy sell, if you’re willing to do the work.
Apparently Metro Vancouver mayors are not. If you think they can’t sort this out now, wait till they actually have the money.

Funding
Solutions

“…the Mayors’ Council is against the use of
property taxes as a further funding source…” So the Mayors are unwilling to use
the existing tools they have, the tools which they bargained and gainedconcessions in other areas for,
but they want the province to force new taxes on us?

“Appropriate funding sources for TransLink
will include the vehicle levy in the short term and road pricing in the long
term and land value capture;” Sure, just tell us what you’re going to do with
it.

“Emphasize that TransLink should not meet
current budgets through service cuts or liquidation of assets” and “The Mayors’ Council has previously
confirmed its view on additional short and long term funding sources" We’re not willing to live within our
budgets or use the tools you already gave us to increase funding.

“As per the legislation, the Mayors’
Council will consider supplemental plans that include funding proposals with
the extension of funding sources being the responsibility of the province in
consultation with various parties” You give us the money; we spend it how we
want.

Governance
Proposal

Everyone agrees this needs to change.

If the Mayors spent the energy they have
fighting the referendum to actually preparing it and getting the people of the
region onboard, they’d be halfway done already.
We’ve done enough visioneering:
LRSP, Transport 2040 and its predecessors, and regional growth
strategies have been spouting visions out for decades